


Sammy's Family

by HeidiJames28



Series: We're a Family First and Cricketers Second [4]
Category: Cricket RPF
Genre: Family, Family Feels, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:07:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25411345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeidiJames28/pseuds/HeidiJames28
Summary: This is just another fluffy collection of Sammy and his family because I have been watching the cricket and seeing all the fluffy moments they share as a family.
Relationships: Eoin Morgan/Ben Stokes/Mark Wood, Jimmy Anderson/Alastair Cook, Jonny Bairstow/Chris Woakes, Jos Buttler/Joe Root, Sam Billings/Jason Roy, Sam Curran/Dom Bess
Series: We're a Family First and Cricketers Second [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2103888
Comments: 479
Kudos: 8





	Sammy's Family

**Author's Note:**

> Sammy is portrayed to be autistic in a bit of this fic - his experiences and traits are based on mine - autism comes in all shapes and forms and every single one is valid. Just in case anyone is confused hyper means too much and hypo is not enough.
> 
> I am a bit nervous about posting this so sorry if it's bad

Sammy coughed, the sound harsh and grating, before sniffling miserably. Jimmy turned to look at him from across the training room, cooing gently when he saw Sammy's red nose and watery eyes. "You alright, bub?" Jimmy asked softly, walking over to Sammy and brushing his hair out of his face. He hissed, retracting his hand harshly at the heat coming from his forehead. 

"I don't feel good, papa," Sammy whined, making grabby hands and burrowing into Jimmy's hold, "my head hurts and my nose is all stuffy." Sammy coughed again, "my throat hurts. Fix it, please papa." 

Jimmy's heart clenched at the childish demand, closing his arms around his baby and rocking slightly. "It's alright, bub, do you want to go home?" 

"Management said I couldn't, told me real cricketers work through the illness." Sammy rubbed his eyes tiredly with his fist. Jimmy cooed again, heading over to his bag and pulling out a throat soother and his keys. 

"Take this, baby boy." Jimmy unwrapped the lozenge, popping it in Sammy's mouth and pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. "Go get in the car, one of your blankets and teddies should be in the boot. Lie down on the backseat and try and get some sleep while I go talk to management."

Sammy stumbled out of the room after pecking Jimmy lightly on the cheek. Jim pulled his phone out, firing off a text while stalking angrily through the halls for Chris Silverwood. 

**09:46 Papa to Adults Anonymous**

_Sammy's sick. I'm taking him home. I don't care what management has to say._

**09:48 Mama to Adults Anonymous**

_Oh god, what's wrong with him?_

**09:48 Papa to Adults Anonymous**

_I think it's just a cold. Seems exhausted. Imagine he's not been sleeping well without Bessie._

**09:49 Dad to Adults Anonymous**

_Alright darling, take care of him. I'll stop off at the pharmacy at lunch and bring some stuff home._

_When are Bessie and Jos getting back from Somerset?_

**09:58 Papa to Adults Anonymous**

_Management has been dealt with._

_Should be later tonight or tomorrow based on when they finish training._

**09:59 Uncle Jos to Adults Anonymous**

_We'll be back tonight - Marcus said we can leave earlier today._

_Should I tell Bessie?_

**10:02 Uncle Bennie to Adults Anonymous**

_It'll just stress him out, let him know when you get back._

**10:03 Uncle Jos to Adults Anonymous**

_Alright, see you soon_ _._

\--

Jimmy opened the front door of the car, picking up the key Sammy left on the leather, and slid into the driver's seat quietly. He turned to check on his youngest and melted at the sight that greeted him. Sammy was lying down, swamped in one of Jimmy's hoodies with his pale pink travel blanket settled over him and Stuart the unicorn cuddled close to his chest. One hand was fisting Jimmy's jumper and the tip of his little finger was resting just past his lips. 

The fast-bowler leant over the midsection, brushing Sammy's hair out of his face, and tucking the blanket over his shoulders. He settled back in his seat, starting the car, and carefully pulling out of the car park, occasionally looking back at the sleeping child with love in his eyes. 

\--

"I'm home," Ali announced, walking into the lounge with a plastic bag hanging off one arm, and a cup of coffee in the other. He grimaced slightly, mouthing an apology for the noise when he saw Jimmy sitting on the sofa with Sammy bundled up in his lap, snoring lightly into his neck.

"Hello, babe," Jimmy responded, taking the coffee with a warm grin and shifting slightly. As he moved, Sammy groaned in annoyance and buried his face further into Sammy's neck. "What did you get?" 

"Some cold and flu meds, heat pads cause he said his shoulder was aching yesterday, some throat soothers, his ADHD meds, and cute cuddly toy I saw in the baby section." Ali pulled the items out of the bag, holding up a small bumblebee teddy. "It's soft so I figured it wouldn't set him off too much. Do you need anything?"

"Can you warm up some soup for him, please? He hasn't eaten and every time I try to pull away he gets all whiney." Jimmy smiled warmly at Ali, who leant down to kiss him, tucking the bumblebee into Sammy's arms as he did. 

"Any particular flavour of soup?" 

"I think Chris and Bilbo made Leek and Potato yesterday and there are some leftovers in the fridge," Jimmy answered, brushing a hand over Sammy's head to gauge the temperature. "Can you also get the thermometer and raise the thermostat a bit?" 

"Has he got the shivers?" Ali asked, pulling an extra blanket over from the end of the sofa and tucking it around his baby.

"He's got a fever, his forehead is hot to the touch, but he was complaining about being hot and cold earlier," Jimmy explained, lifting the blanket slightly to show Sammy's bare legs, "we settled for a blanket but no trousers." 

"Okay darling, I'll be back in a second." 

"Sammy," Jimmy cooed, shaking the bundle gently, "it's time for some food." Sammy groaned, shaking his head and burrowing further into Jimmy's hold. Jimmy laughed quietly, shaking the baby slightly harder until one drowsy brown eye blinked open at him. "Dad's home, he's making some soup for you okay. We've got some medication for you okay, do you want some juice?" 

"Please, papa," Sammy responded, his eyes slipping closed again. Jimmy texted Ali to bring a drink not wanting to shout and risk hurting the baby's head. 

Ali walked back in a few minutes later with a bowl of soup and a sippy-cup of juice. Jimmy raised his eyebrows, nodding towards the cup in confusion. "I didn't want him to spill juice down himself." 

Jimmy shrugged taking the cup and handing it to Sammy with some flu tablets. "Here you go, bubba." Sammy didn't even blink at the cup, just taking the tablets and shoving the spout in his mouth to wash them down. "Soup for you as well." Sammy tried to take the bowl, but, his hands were shaking too hard and he whined not being able to grab the ceramic. 

"It's alright, baby boy," Jimmy soothed taking the bowl and spoon. "Open up, birdie," Jimmy held a spoonful of soup to Sammy's lips before he opened his mouth and swallowed the soup. The bowler kept feeding his baby as Ali filled them in on his morning. 

\--

Dom Bess rushed into the house having jumped out of the still-moving car and ran up the driveway. Jos chased after him, slightly regretting his decision not to wait until he'd stopped the car before telling him Sammy was sick.

Ali and Jimmy walked into the entranceway after hearing the front slam open to find Bessie standing there with a heaving chest and wild eyes. "Dom," Jos chastised, "I know you're worried but you can't get out of a moving car." 

"Dominic Mark Cook," Ali shouted in shock, "you got out of a moving car?" 

"It wasn't moving that fast," Dom whined in response, stepping back slightly when he saw the worried fire in Ali's eyes. "You can tell me off later, dad. Where's Sammy?"

"He's in bed with Bilbo," Jimmy responded, cutting off Ali who was about to shout at the baby. "You're not off the hook but I know you're worried so you can go check on him. He's exhausted but he won't properly fall asleep cause he keeps crying that you're not there." 

Dom hugged him in thanks before running up the stairs and into his bedroom. His heart stuttered at the sight of Sammy cuddled up into Bilbo as the older blond read him the first Percy Jackson book. 

Sammy turned to face the new intruder, a sleepy smile spreading his lips as tears welled in his eyes at the sight of his lovely boyfriend. "Dommy," he muttered wetly, coughing into his fist and sniffling. 

Dom climbed onto the bed pulling Sammy out of Bilbo's arms and into his own. "I've missed you so much, baby boy. I was thinking about you the whole time," Bessie muttered into Sammy's hair, pressing kisses all over his face. 

Bilbo slipped out of the room, turning the main light off and the night light on before closing the door quietly behind him. "I missed you so much, Dommy, never allowed to leave again." 

Dom cooed lovingly, kissing Sammy on the lips. "Let me get ready and we can sleep, baby boy." Sammy reluctantly pulled away letting Dom slip off the bed and strip until he was just in his boxers before climbing back in. 

"I love you, Bessie." 

"I love you too, baby." 

* * * * *

"Welcome back to Test Match Special. We're here watching England vs Pakistan with Alastair Cook. England is going with a bowling change with Sam Curran coming in from the James Anderson end. He does look to be sporting a nasty bruise on the cheek this morning, do you anything about this, Alastair?."

"That would, unfortunately, be my fault," Ali admitted with a little smile, looking down at the players and sending Sammy a thumbs up before he started his run-up. "We were watching a film the other day, I scared him and he hit the floor with his face." 

"How on earth did you scare him?" 

"Ollie and I were watching the screen but Sammy and Bessie were too busy making out so I shouted at him and he jumped." Ali's eyes grew wide as he realised what he'd said but he didn't draw attention to it, hoping that no-one noticed. 

"What did you shout?"

"I don't fully remember probably something along the lines of _Samuel Matthew Cook, this is family time_ and he jumped so hard he just fell off," Cooky explained, laughing awkwardly (what he didn't mention was how Sammy cried after he hit the floor and Ali had spent three hours apologising). 

\--

"You did so well today, bubba," Cooky praised, rushing up to Sammy and wrapping him in a tight hug and pressing a kiss to his head. "I do have something to admit though." 

Sammy pulled away in confusion, staring at Cooky not liking his nervous twitches. "What did you do?"

"I may have accidentally said on TMS that you and Bessie were kissing before you bruised your cheek," Ali admitted, smiling sheepishly but frowning when Sammy simply laughed. 

"Dad, don't worry," Sammy reassured, pressing a kiss to Ali's cheek. "We're not keeping it a secret, we just hadn't announced it. We kiss in public all the time, but somehow people pass it off as friendly." 

"The media is a strange place," Ali told him, "if anyone gives you any flack for this, you know what to do right?" 

"Yup," Sammy smiled, "go to you not papa because papa will kill them and you told him he's not allowed to go to prison until all your babies have grown up, so never." 

"Good boy," Ali praised, hugging him once more before allowing him to run off, most likely in search of Bessie.

* * * * *

Sammy and Bessie walked into the main hall of the black-tie event, hand in hand. "Have I told you how good you look tonight, baby?" Bessie muttered, leaning over to kiss Sammy on the cheek. 

"Only about a thousand times, sweetheart," Sammy teased back, squeezing their joined hands and sending him a loving smile. 

"Bessie, we need to go do media," Jos spoke, getting the attention of the young couple. "Sammy, stay with Jimmy until we get back ok." 

"Okay Jossy, I'll stay in his eyesight at all times," Sammy responded before turning to face Bessie and pressing a kiss against his lips and pulling away. "Have fun darling." 

Bessie and Jos walked away leaving Sammy and Jimmy at the table having a conversation. "I'm just going to get a drink, do you want anything?" Sammy spoke ten minutes later. 

"Can you get me a whiskey please?" Jimmy responded, "and no alcohol for you, you're mental enough as it is." Sammy simply laughed, slipping away from the table and over to the bar. 

\--

"Hey, Papa," Bessie spoke, pecking Jimmy on the cheek as he arrived back at the table, "where's Sammy?" 

"He went to get a drink," Jimmy responded, glancing at the watch on his wrist, "like ten minutes ago, he's probably trying to convince them he's old enough to buy the whiskey." 

Bessie laughed, pulling his and Sammy's IDs out of his pocket. "I'll go save him." Bessie walked towards the bar but he was stopped short when he saw Sammy leaning against the bar. A pretty blonde woman was standing next to him. 

Dom's heart stopped when the woman leant in close, smiling flirty at his boyfriend. Sammy turned and sent her a confused look before smiling and turning back to the bartender. Dom felt jealousy burn in his stomach and worked to push it down before Sammy realised. The blond was very good at knowing the main emotion people experienced but he found it much harder to understand the subtle nuances between emotions or understand why people felt them (Dom had always suspected that Sammy was somewhere on the autistic spectrum but was too afraid to ask).

Bessie was drawn out of his thoughts when the woman placed her hand on Sammy's bicep. Dom saw red, glaring intently at the woman and growling slightly under his breath. Sammy looked down at the hand in disgust and then back at the woman before finally spotting Dom and sending him a panicked pleading look. 

"Hi, baby boy. Jimmy was getting worried," Dom spoke as he approached his boyfriend. He pecked Sammy on the cheek before glaring down the woman's hand. She stared back refusing to remove her hand, Dom laughed spitefully picking up her hand and removing it before grabbing Sammy's hand in one palm and Jimmy's whiskey in another. He dragged Sammy back to the table sitting down angrily and handing Jimmy his drink.

Jimmy took a sip of his whiskey, staring at the couple in confusion. Dom glared at the table and Jimmy recognised the fire in his eyes, chuckling slightly, it was the first time he'd ever seen the young boy act jealous. 

Sammy turned to face his boyfriend in confusion, he wasn't what he'd done wrong but Dom was definitely annoyed and his actions would suggest it was aimed at him. He thought back over the last twenty minutes but couldn't work out what he'd done. He spent the rest of the night over-thinking as Dom seemed to spend the whole meal talking with anyone but him. 

\--

Sammy woke up the next morning, groaning at the slight ache in his lower half. When they had gotten home, Dom had switched, changing from cold to dominate in a heartbeat. Not that Sammy was complaining, it was a rather enjoyable end to the night.

Now though his skin felt itchy and his ears rung with the silence of the room, the light streaming in from the windows was making his head pound, and the bedding was too soft to the touch. Sammy could tell this was going to be a tricky stimulation day with a strong hypersensitivity to sound and light and hyposensitivity to touch.

He stretched, reaching over for his boyfriend before realising that Dom wasn't in bed with him. Sammy frowned, normally Dom would wait for him to wake up. There was a piece of paper on Dom's pillow and Sammy picked it up, squinting heavily whilst trying to read it. 

_Gone for training with Jos. Will be back at some point this afternoon._

Sammy's thoughts were going crazy, hurting his head more and he reached up a hand to clutch his forehead in pain. Dom hadn't said I love you and he hadn't used a kiss, whatever Sammy did wrong must have been awful if he was still annoyed the day after. 

He got out bed stumbling on his legs and wincing at the strange sensation walking caused before flicked off the night light, rolling the blackout curtain down and climbing back in bed. He was hoping that if he slept through the day then he would feel better when he woke up. 

\--

He was wrong. He woke up feeling worse than before, his skin felt like it was pulled too tight, his eyes were stinging, and his head was ringing. A large pounding was echoing through the house and Sammy got out of bed, stumbling downstairs to see Jimmy walking into the house. Mark and Joe were stood in the entranceway jumping up and down and laughing. 

Jimmy smiled at the kids, laughing at the older boys antics and giving them a quick cuddle. He turned to face Sammy and was shocked by how rough he looked. "Joey and Marky, why don't you go watch some T.V, okay?" The boys nodded happily rushing out of the room into the living room. 

"Hey, papa," Sammy greeted. Now that Jimmy was home Sammy would be able to ask him what he'd done wrong with Dom (he always went to Jos, Bilbo, Jimmy, or Ali for explanations when feelings were confusing him). 

"You feeling alright, baby boy?" Jimmy asked softly, brushing his hand through Sammy's hair to subtly check his temperature. 

"Just woke up," Sammy responded, fisting his eyes slightly to cover his wince at the brightness of the room. "Do you have a minute? I just wanted to check something?"

"Can it wait until later? I've only come back to grab my bowling shoes," Jimmy responded, grabbing the kit bag Ali had lovingly left by the bottom of the stairs before walking back over to the door. 

"It'll only take a minute," Sammy promised, he needed to know what went wrong so he could fix it before Bessie came home. 

"I'm sorry, bub, I don't have time right now."

"But-" 

"Bub," Jimmy interrupted, "I think Bennie's coming back really soon or Stu is out in the cottage if you wanna ask him." 

"But I'm trying to ask you. It's import-"

"Not right now, Sam," Jimmy raised his voice causing Sammy to step back in shock and wince at the pain it caused. He reached out for his youngest and sighed when Sammy flinched away slightly (he could be very particular about touch and sometimes he wouldn't let anyone but Bessie touch him). 

"Sorry Jimmy," Sammy muttered pathetically before slipping out of the room and following the others into the living room. The use of his actual name shocked Jimmy and on any other occasion he would have followed the kid but he had to get back to training before management killed him. He sighed, walking back out to the car and silently promising to fix things later. 

\--

Sammy had been dosing on the sofa for about an hour when the channel changed and the sudden increase in noise caused him to jump slightly in pain. "Can you turn it down please, Marky?" 

"Yes course," Mark responded. Normally, Sammy would have recognised the mischievous lilt to his voice and turned to stare at him but this time he just sighed happily as the volume turned down.

Mark shared a cheeky glance with Joe before subtly turning the volume up once every thirty seconds. Within five minutes, Sammy was clutching his ears trying to limit the amount of input. "Down, Marky, down."

"Oh sorry, Sammy," Mark responded sarcastically, turning it up again and laughing as Sammy let out a small whine. He did it again and was shocked when Sammy screamed before curling into a ball and tugging his hair harshly. 

"Stop, stop, please, stop it, too loud, stop, no more," Sammy begged, his words slurring together as his frantic tugging got worse. He sighed in relief when the noise suddenly cut out, releasing his hair slightly before bringing his hands over his stomach and scratching harshly. Thick red marks appeared where his nails were digging into his skin. 

Mark and Joe watched the scene in confusion and fear for a moment before Mark crawled across the sofa and place a gentle hand on top of Sammy's in an attempt to stop his scratching. As soon as he made contact with Sammy, the blond boy flinched away, curling tighter into a ball. 

"Call Bilbo," Mark told Joe, pulling his phone out of his pocket and throwing it at him before turning back to Sammy and cooing softly to help him calm down. Joe's hand shook as he picked up the phone and called Sam Billings, swallowing harshly so his voice didn't break. 

_Bilbo?_

_What's up, Joey? You sound scared, have you set the house on fire again?_

_Something's wrong with Sammy._

_What do you mean?_

_He's crying and he was tugging his hair really painfully but now he's scratching himself really deep and he flinched when Marky touched him and something's wrong with him._

_Slow down and breathe, Joey. Don't work yourself into a panic, it's okay. Explain what happened before he reacted._

_He was asleep and it was Mark's turn to watch tv so he changed the channel but it was loads louder so Sammy woke up. He asked us to turn it down so we did but we wanted to mess around so we turned it back up. Then suddenly he just started clutching his ears and crying._

_Alright, that's fine. I'm just getting in the car, I'll be there in twenty minutes. Is he talking?_

_No, he's just whining._

_Put the phone by him on speaker and let me talk to him._

Joey did as he was told, putting the phone down on the sofa, "it's Bilbo", he told the crying boy. 

Sammy perked up at the name, still scratching heavily and crying, but his eyes looked less glazed and he seemed more aware of his surroundings. "Hey baby boy," Bilbo cooed through the phone. Sammy whined in response, uncurling slightly at the sound. "I'm assuming everything is too much right now," Sammy whined again, "that's alright, bubba, that's alright. No need to be stressed about anything. Can you talk, baby?"

"He's shaking his head," Mark said. Sammy kept opening his mouth in an attempt to speak but then failing and whining loudly. 

"That's alright baby boy, just whine for yes and stay silent if it's a no, okay?" Bilbo waited for the whine before continuing. "Is the light and sound hurting?" Another whine. "Joey, can you close the blinds for me, please?" 

"Will do," Joey said, going over to the french windows and closing the blinds. 

"Do you need pressure, Sammy?" Bilbo asked, making Sammy release another high-pitch whine, this one was tinged with embarrassment. "No need to be shy about it, it's like Joey or Bessie having anxiety, you can't help it. Is it alright if Joey and Marky help?"

Sammy glanced at the two boys, attempting to read their expression before letting out a pitiful whine. "I'm proud of you, baby boy. Joey and Mark if you can get him to lie down and then just lay down on top of him. He'll flinch a bit but just ignore it." 

"Okay, will do it now." Joey coaxed Sammy to lie down on the sofa and then settled down next to him. Mark lay down on the other side, both slowly resting half their weight on his side. Sammy whined loudly, crying again, and flinching away from them. He settled down as more of their weight rested against him. "We're in position, anything else?" 

"No, just keep quiet and talk soothingly until I get back. I'll be about ten-fifteen minutes."

\--

Sam Billings jumped out of the car, racing into the house and through to the living room. He crouched down next to the group cuddled on the sofa, running his hand through Sammy's hair.

"Hey, baby boy, do you wanna go to bed?" Bilbo asked, smiling gently when Sammy whined and pushed into his hold. He motioned for the boys to get off, giving them a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead when he did. "Thanks for looking after him boys." 

Sammy whined again as the lack of simulation hit him. "Come on then," Bilbo muttered, slipping his hands under Sammy and pulling him up. He carried him to his bedroom, placing Sammy gentle on the bed before climbing in next to him and piling blankets on top of him until he stopped whining. "Go to sleep, bubba." 

\--

A soft knock pulled Bilbo's attention from his phone and he quietly called out permission to enter. The door creaked open revealing a tired Jimmy Anderson. "The boys told me what happened, is he alright?"

"He will be," Sam responded, smiling brightly, "sometimes he has sensory overloads, everything either becomes too much or not enough and he finds it hard to process. There's normally some form of trigger but I don't know what caused this one." 

"He wanted to talk to me but I had to go, was it my fault?" Jimmy asked, rare insecurity visible in his tone. 

"Wasn't your fault, papa," Sammy muttered, blinking hazily and rolling over to face Jimmy. "Woke up feeling wrong. Still need to ask you something though?"

Jimmy crossed the room in record time, sliding into the bed next to him, "you feeling better, bubba?" He asked Sammy, receiving a nod and sleepy smile in return. "What did you need to ask?" 

"I think Dommy's annoyed at me," Sammy started, shocking both adults (there was no way Dom would ever be annoyed at his baby. "It started after I went to get drinks, he came over and he was really angry and then he left a note this morning but it didn't have a kiss. So he must be annoyed at me, but I can't work out what I did wrong." 

Jimmy melted at Sammy's question, "he wasn't angry, bub, he was jealous." 

"Why was he jealous? I only love him." 

"Did anything happen while you were at the bar?" Bilbo asked, locking eyes with Jimmy who shrugged and shook his head. 

"Some woman kept trying to talk to me but I didn't want to talk to her," Sammy said, cuddling into Jimmy and pecking his cheek. "She put her hand on me and then Dommy saved me." 

"There's your answer, bub," Jimmy explained, "he didn't like someone else touching you. To explain the note, he probably didn't think it through. I know Jos was panicking cause they were late this morning so he was running late and didn't have time." 

"Promise?" Bilbo melted at the childlike insecurity in Sammy's voice. The trio heard the front door open and close and then Joey's happy scream, alerting them to Jos and Bessie's return. 

"How about we go and explain the situation to Bessie and then he can come up and reassure you, okay bub?" Sammy nodded and the two parents left the room, "we'll send him up in a minute."

"Love you, Mama, you too, papa."

\--

"Baby boy," Bessie cooed, walking into the room and immediately climbing into bed. "I wasn't angry, I just didn't like the woman touching you." 

"But I didn't want her to touch me," Sammy was still confused, he'd only ever loved Dom and he could only ever imagine loving Dom. He shuffled into Bessie's arms, resting his head on Dom's chest and listening to his heartbeat. 

"But you're mine and she touched you," Bessie grumbled, tightening his hold on Sammy. "I'm sorry about the note, you looked so peaceful and I didn't want to wake you up. Especially since I really wore you out so much last night." 

Sammy blushed, burying his face in Dom's chest. "Is that why you were so rough last night?" 

"I'm so sorry about that," Dom responded, pressing gentle kisses around Sammy's face, "I didn't hurt you did I." 

"I wasn't complaining," Sammy muttered, pressing kisses to Dom's neck and nipping slightly. "In fact, I wouldn't mind a replay."

Dom flipped them quickly so he was leaning over Sammy. He leant down and pressed a searing kiss to Sammy's lips, pulling away slightly and mumbling against the skin. "You little shit." 

(The next day, there was a new rule about television volume and Ali had a serious chat with Sammy about telling his family things, he was allowed he was worried about their baby. And if Mark went out and bought Sammy a weighted blanket and left it on his bed, who could blame him?)

* * * * *

Sammy was bouncing in his seat, babbling excitedly to Bessie. "Sammy," Jimmy interrupted from the front seat, "calm down."

"But papa," Sammy whined, pouting at Jimmy through the rearview mirror, "we're going to see Uncle Swanny dance. I'm so excited and it's movie week so that's even better." 

"I know, bubba," Jimmy laughed slightly, "but you don't need to be so bouncy. Anyway, Graeme has a surprise for you but you can't have it unless you sit still." Sammy stopped squirming immediately, leaning against Bessie who put an arm around him to keep him still. "Good boy." 

\-- 

"Mister Swann," an assistant spoke, walking up to Graeme as he sat in the makeup chair, "I have two people saying they're your family outside waiting for you. One Mister Jimmy Anderson and a Mister Sam Cook." 

"Send them in," Swanny responded, smiling widely when Sammy ran into the room, wrapping his arms tightly around his favourite uncle (outside the immediate family, don't tell anyone but Jos or Jase are his real favourites). 

"Papa said you have a surprise for me," Sammy gushed, turning and smiling hesitantly at Swanny's dance partner, Oti. She smiled back, laughing slightly when he just blushed and glanced away. Graeme had filled (see: gushed about) Oti in on his complicated family and she had been expecting a hyperactive blonde child, but, she hadn't realised he was so adorable.

"Step back a second, bubba," Jimmy cooed, pulling his child into his arms, "pay attention." 

Sammy tilted his head, looking around the room before staring back at Graeme and tilting his head in confusion before gasping in excitement. "You're doing Spiderman."

"Took you long enough, Sammy-boy," Swanny teased, ruffling his hair and smiling cheekily. "Thought I'd do my favourite nephews, favourite film." Sammy blushed, hugging him tightly again before standing next to Jimmy again. Sammy quickly grew bored with the adults' conversation and walked over to inspect the rest of the room.

"Papa," Sammy spoke a few minutes later, his voice quiet and shy, "I think I knocked some glitter over." Jimmy spun around, coughing in shock when he saw his youngest, covered in multi-coloured glitter.

"How did you even manage to do that?" Jimmy asked in bewilderment. He shook his head walking up to his baby and started brushing his suit, trying to remove as much of the glitter as possible. "Your dad is going to kill you." 

"Not if you don't tell him," Sammy pleaded, Ali had had a thirty-minute conversation with babies telling them what they could and couldn't do while they were out. Now, he hadn't specifically mentioned throwing glitter down yourself but it was implied.

"Do you think he won't notice that you know look like a Christmas tree?" Jimmy motioned to the boy's jacket and shirt and the ridiculous mess that covered it. An intern ran over and handed Jimmy a lint roller to remove as much of the glitter as possible. "This is why we can't take you anywhere." 

"I didn't mean to," Sammy whined, "it looked pretty and I wanted to look at it so I picked up but the lid wasn't on and then it was all down me." 

"What do we saying about looking?" Jimmy sent Sammy his tried and tested disappointed dad glare (the same glare he gives any bowler that tries to bowl nasty bouncers to his babies). 

"Look with your eyes, not with your fingers," Sammy repeated the phrase (he heard this phrase everywhere he went, mainly because he had a habit of picking up random things and putting them in his mouth).

"Bloody glitter," Jimmy grumbled, earning a laugh from Swanny who was watching the interaction with soft eyes. 

"Glitter is the herpes of the make-up world," Swanny remarked, gaining a strange look from Jimmy. He shook his head and turned back to his baby, ruffling his air in an attempt to make him look socially acceptable. 

"Sorry Sir," a small voice interrupted and Jimmy turned to face the assistant from earlier, "it's time for the show to begin so if you follow me, I'll show you to your seats." 

"Good luck, Uncle Swanny," Sammy gushed, hugging him tightly before skipping out of the room. 

"Go well, mate." Jimmy chased after his son before he managed to get lost or climb up something. "Samuel Cook get back here." Sammy stopped waiting for his papa before grabbing Jimmy's hand and pulling him into the audience. 

"What took you so long? You almost missed the start," Ali asked as the pair approached taking the seats next to their respective partners. Jimmy slung an arm around the back of Ali's chair and Bessie grabbed Sammy's hand pressing a chaste kiss to the back.

"Just talking to Uncle Swanny," Sammy replied, sending Jimmy a pleading look not to say anything (he didn't want to get in trouble right before the show started). 

"We were just catching up," Jimmy spoke, sending a wink to Sammy who sighed out in relief, "don't worry so much, babe. Both babies are here and safe." 

Ali stared at his family, sizing them up before noticing something strange on Sammy's collar. "Is that glitter?" He asked causing Sammy's eyes to go wide as he shook his head (he'd learnt to be subtle from the Josephs so it hadn't gone particularly well). 

Luckily, Sammy was saved by the bell as the crowd-announcer asked for silence and the cameras started rolling. Ali squinted at his baby in suspicion but Sammy just sent him a blinding smile in return and snuggled into Bessie. He was eager to see his Uncle dance and he had overheard that after the show they were going to get ice cream so he was doubly excited.

(Jimmy had only agreed to the ice cream because Swanny had foolishly offered to take care of a sugar high Sammy which he didn't think would be hard - spoiler alert: it was hard and he regretted it, he had to call Bessie in to calm Sammy enough to go to sleep).


End file.
